Wire-and-picket-fence machine



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' H. J. GEBHARDT.

WIRE AND PIGKET FENCE MACHINE. No. 435,539.

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H. J. GEBHARDT. WIRE AND PICKET FENCE MACHINE.

No. 435,539. Patented Sept. 2, 1890.

"UNITED STATES PATENT 'QFFICE.

HENRY J. GEBIIARDT, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

WlRE-AND-PICKET-FENCE MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 435,539, datedSeptember 2, 1890.

Application filed August 20, 1889. Serial No. 321,368. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. GEBHARDT, of Minneapolis, in the county ofHennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new andusefulImprovements in Automatic Fence-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved automatic machinefor the man- 'ufacture of combined wire-and-picket fence.

The invention consists, generally, in the construction and combinationhereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalvertical section on line a: acof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse verticalsection on line y y of Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sections of thetwister-heads. Figs. 6 and 7 are details of the mechanism for stoppingperiodically the twister-heads. Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are details of thepicket-throwing device. Fig. 11 is a detail section of the mechanism foroperatingthe picket-throwing device. Fig. 12 is a detail of thefence-advancing mechanism. Fig. 13 is a detail of the spool-frame. Figs.14 and 15 are details of the reel. Fig. 16 is a plan showing a saw forcutting the fence.

In the drawings, 2 represents the frame of the machine, which is of anypreferred construction-and of any suitable size and shape.

3 represents the main driving-shaft, to which power is applied throughthe pulley or driving wheel 4.

At the rear end of the frame 2 and mounted in suitable bearings thereonare the series of spool-frames 5. Any desired nu mberof these frames maybe used in the machine. I have in this instance shown the machineprovided with five of these frames. Each spool-frame supports two spools6, which are mounted in the spool-frames in any suitable way and fromwhich the wires pass to thetwister-heads,hereinafter described, throughthe hollow forward ends of the twister-frames. Each spool-frame isprovided with a suitable sprocket-wheel '7, and a suitable driving-chain8 passes from a sprocket 9 on the shaft 3 around all of said sprockets 7and drives said spool-frames at the desired speed. I prefer to arrangesaid chainS so that it will pass alternately over and under saidsprocket-wheels, thereby giving a longer wrap on the wheels and drivingthe alternate spool-frames in opposite directions.

Arranged in front of the spool-frames 5 are a series of shortindependent shafts 10, which are mounted in bearings upon the frame ofthe machine and are provided, preferably upon their rear ends, with thesprockets 11. The shafts 10 are preferably hollow, and they are drivenat the desired speed by means of a chain 12, which passes aroundasprocketwheel 13 upon the driving-shaft 3 and alternately over andunder the sprockets 11 upon the shafts 10. The shafts 10 are drivencontinuously and at a higher rate of speed than the spool-frames 5. Thedifference in the rates of speed of the shafts 10 and the spoolframes isregulated by the size of the sprocket through which they are driven fromthe driving-shaft 3. I prefer, however, to have this speed in theproportion of three to four-that is to say, so that the shafts 10 willmake four revolutions while the spool-frames make three revolutions.

Arranged. upon the forward ends of the shafts 10 are the twister-heads15, provided with the projecting twister-fingers 16. These heads aresecured to the shafts 10 by means of screws 17-0ne in each headpreferably which engages a circumferential groove 18 in the shaft 10. Bythis means the twister-head is prevented from slipping off the shaft,while the shaft may turn freely and the twisterhead remain stationary.The twister-head is also provided with a dog 19, pivoted thereon andhaving a projecting end that is adapted to extend to the inside of thetwister-head throughan opening in its wall. A spring 21 is arranged tobear upon this dog and tends to hold the pawl normally in position withits end projecting through to the interior of the twister-head. Theshaft 10 is provided with a shoulder 23 on its outer surface, and whenthe end of the dog 19 projects through the twister-head it encountersthe shoulder 23, and the shaft 10 and the twister-head then movetogether, the twister-head being carried around with this shaft. A lever25 is pivoted upon a suitable projection 27, preferably arranged uponthe box of the shaft 10. There is preferably one of these levers 25 foreach of the twister-heads, and the levers are preferably arranged abovethe twister-heads, as

shown in Fig. 6. A bar 31 is connected with each of the levers 25, andthis bar is connected by a rod 33 to a bell-crank lever 35. Thealternate twisters preferably rotate in opposite directions, thedriving-chain passing over one and under the next gear-wheel on theshafts to which the twister-heads are connected. Two bars 31 aretherefore preferably provided, connected to opposite arms of the lever35. The bars 31 are therefore moved in opposite directions, and thelevers 25, that control the twister-heads that move in one direction,are connected to one of the bars 31, and those .ihat control thetwister-heads that move in the opposite direction are connected to theother bar 31.

A counter-shaft 37 is driven from the shaft 3 by a suitable chain 39,and this shaft is provided with a cam 41, that operates the lever 35through a suitable connecting-rod 4.3. By this means the levers 25 maybe alternately moved toward or from the twister-heads. When they aremoved toward the twisterheads and are brought into substantially theposition shown by full lines in Fig. 6, they are in position toencounter the dog 19 as the twister-head revolves and to disengage itfrom the shaft 10. The twister-head will remain stationary while theshaft will continue to rotate. As soon as the lever 25 moves in theopposite direction, the spring 21 will cause the end of the dog to bearon the shaft, and

.the shoulder 23, again coming in engagement with the end of said dog,will cause the twister-head to again rotate with the shaft. By thismeans the twister-head may be periodically stopped for the purpose ofpermitting the insertion between the wires of the pickets. Thespool-frames rotate continuously at a uniform speed. The shafts 10, asbefore stated, rotate continuously at a greater speed than thespool-frames. The twisterheads when connected to the shafts 10 move withthem and at the same rate of speed. The twister-heads have a uniformmovement with periodical stoppages. While they are disconnected from theshafts 10 they remain stationary, and they are preferably stopped withthe wires in such position that a line drawn through the centers of bothwires will be perpendicular to the surface of the inserted picket. Asthe wires remain in this position until after the picket is inserted, Iam enabled to secure a much closer wrap about the pickets than can beobtained where the wires are started with a gradually-increasing speedbefore the pickets are wholly inserted. In such case the wires are notdirectly opposite each other on the pickets, and the distance betweenthe wires is greater than the thickness of the picket, and when thefence is put in use the pickets will become loose. This objection isentirely obviated by my invention.

The pickets to be fed into the machine are placed upon thecarrying-belts 47, which are driven through suitable gearing from thecounter-shaft 37. I have here shown the shaft 49, over which thebelts.pass,-.arranged to be driven by a belt 51, that is driven from ashort shaft 53, having a bevel-gear 55, that meshes with the bevel-gear'57 upon the shaft 37. The belts or carriers 47 move the pickets intoposition to be operated upon.

The picket-thrower consists, essentially, of a carriage 61, providedwith trucks 63, that are arranged upon a rail 65. This carriage isarranged to be moved back and forth upon this rail, and it isprovidedwith a yielding buffer 67, having a pivoted head 69, and held inposition upon the carriage 61 by means of the spring 71. The buffer 67is arranged in line with the end of the picket when it is in position tobe moved into the machine, and the head 69 is pivoted, preferably at itsupper end, and its lower end engages the rear end of the picket.Ashoulder on the head 69 strikes a shoulder on the bufier 67, so thatthe head cannot be turned back beyond the vertical position which itoccupies when it strikes the end of the picket. When the carriage 61moves in the reverse direction, the head 69 may turn into asubstantially horizontal position in line with the buffer 67, as shownby dotted lines in Fig. 8. This construction permits the head to moveback over the picket should one have dropped into position to be movedinto the machine. When the carriage 61 reaches the end of its reversedmovement, the head 69 will drop into a vertical position, as shown byfull lines in Fig. 8, ready to engage the next picket and move it intothe twister-heads. As the buffer 67 is arranged to yield when a certainpressure is brought upon it, it will be seen that if the pickets varysomewhat in length the ends which move first while being carriedinto themachine will all come in line with each other, being brought against thesame fixed stop, and thusafence will be made in which one end of thepickets will all be in line. A lever 73 is pivoted to the carriage 61,and its opposite end is provided with a box or casting 75, which ismounted upon and surrounds a short shaft 77. A disk or plate 79, havingtwo oppositelyarranged shoulders 81, is secured to the'shaft 77 and isarranged within the box 75. A shoulder 83 on the inside of the box 75engages one of the shoulders 81. A hook 85 engages the other shoulder81. This hook is slotted and extends over a guide-pin 87, and alsoextends outside of the box 75, and is provided with a spiral spring 89,by which it is held in position. The end of the hook is beveled, and apin 86 is :arranged in the casting 75 close to the beveled end of thehook. When the strain on the arm 73 is sufficient to overcome thetension of the spring 89, the hook 85 is thrown outward by its beveledor inclined end riding over the pin 86 and is released from the shoulder81 on the plate 79. A crank 91 is connected to the shaft 77, and

this crank is arranged to be driven by a pitman or rod 93, that isconnected to the crankarm 91, and extends to a suitable crank 97 on theshaft 37. The crank 97 engages a slot 99 in the end of the pitman 93,whereby as the. shaft 37 is rotated the pitman 93 will be vibrated backand forth, thrusting the pickets into the machine through the lever 73.The slot in the end of the pitman causes the picket-thrower to remainstationary during a portion of the movement of the crank. It will beseen that the projections 83,together with the lugs 81 and the dog 85,effectually protect this portion of the mechanism, as when a straingreater than that for which it is set comes upon the carriage the spring89 will yield, thus permitting the shaft 77 to turn without moving thecarriage 61 or its operating-lever. The rod 93, that is connected withthe crank 91, is arranged to move as often as it is necessary to move apicket into the machine.

Arranged in front of the twister-heads is a fence-advancingmechanism,which is adapted to enter the spaces between the pickets andto grasp each picket by the rear edge thereof. This fence-advancingmechanism consists, preferably, of an endless chain 101, thatis arrangedto pass over suitable sprockets 103, that are driven by a suitable belt105 from the shaft 53, these sprockets being mounted upon suitablehorizontal shafts 107. I prefer to provide two of these endless chains,arranging one near each end of the pickets, as shown in Fig. 1. I alsoprefer to provide sprocket-wheels of a peculiar construction, consistingof disks 109 and adjustable teeth 111, having beveled ends, that aresecured upon the disks 109 by bolts 113, that pass through slot-s 115 insaid teeth. A portion of the links forming the chain 101 are providedwith the inclined dogs 117. These dogs are arranged to engage the rearedges of the pickets, as shown in Fig. 12, and they advance the fenceconstantly and at a uniform rate of speed. The chains 101 are drivencontinuouslyandin the same direction,and each of the dogs engages therear edge of one of the pickets. The distance between the vertical facesof the dogs is equal to the distance from the rear edge of one picket tothe rear edge of the next picket, so that as the fence is advanced forthe full length of the advancing mechanism each picket is engaged andmoved by two dogs, one engaging each end of the picket. By this meansthe fence willbe equally and evenly drawn forward, and will thus be keptstraight and even.

For the purpose of moving each picket as it is fed into the machineforward from between the fingers of the twister-head and bringing itinto the bight of the wires in position to be secured by twisting thewires, I provide sliding blocks 119, having shoulders 121. Said blocksare arranged to move toward and from the twister-heads orin thedirection of the advance of the wire. When in their normal position, theshoulders 121 do not project beyond the forward end of the face of thetwister-head. Arms 123 and 124 are secured to the shaft 125, and thearms 124 are connected to the sliding b1ocks'119. Thecounterbalance-weight 127 is also secured to the shaft 125. A pitman 129is connected to the arm 123, and its lower end engages a cam 131 on theshaft 37. As the shaft 37 is rotated, the blocks 119 are moved back andforth through the means described; The blocks are in the position shownby full lines in Fig. 7 when the picket is fed into position betweenthese twisting-fingers. The blocks are then moved into the positionshown by dotted lines in the same figure, carrying the picket with themand bringing it against the last-made twist in the wires. The picketwill now be engaged by the dogs on the endlesschain carriers,hereinbefore described, and will thereafter be continuously advanced bysuch carrier. The twister-heads will at this time be brought intooperation, and a twist will be made close to the rear side of thepicket.

For the purpose of winding up the fence. into suitable bundles, Iarrange a reel at the end of the frame-work, and upon this reel thecompleted fence is wound. The fence passes, preferably after leaving theadvancing mechanism, over and under suitable rolls 135 and through areceptacle 137 containing a supply of paint. By this means the fence ispainted before it is formed into bundles.

The reel upon which the fence is wound consists, preferably, of a shaft139, mounted in a suitable bearing upon the end of the frame of themachine and provided withabeveled gear 141, that is driven by a pinion143, connected to the counter-shaft 3 bya friction-clutch145. One memberof the clutch 145 is connected to a lever 147, to which is connected aweight 149. This weight may be increased or diminished, as may be foundnecessary, to cause the friction-clutch to operate. WVhen desired, theclutch may be separated, in which case the reel will cease to revolve.

Secured upon the shaft 139 is a cup-shaped casting 151, having a web orprojection .153 extending across the cup.

A short shaft 155 is mounted in a suitable bearing at the other side ofthe frame of the machine, and is adapted to be moved longitudinally inits bearings. A collar 157 is secured to this shaft by a suitableset-screw 159 and prevents longitudinal movement of the shaft when thereel is in use. This shaft is also provided with a cup-shaped casting160. Wedge-shaped bars 161 and 163 are arranged with their ends engagingthe casting 151 and 160, the large end of one bar and the small end ofthe other bar being arranged in each of said castings. Each of said barsis provided in one end with a groove adapted to engage the Web orprojection 153 in the casting 151. By this means both of said bars willbe rotated with the shaft 139. When the reel has been filled withfencing, the shaft 155 is moved longitudinally in its bearings so as todisengage the ends of the bars 161 163. The bars are then removed fromthe inside of the bundle by pulling them out in opposite directions, andmay then be-replaced in position to receive another bundle. I

It will be noticed that in this machine the twister-heads are stopped bypositive mechanism and so that the-wires always retain the same relativeposition to the pickets, or, in other words, that the wires are directlyopposite each other upon the sides of the picket and in the sameperpendicular line to the faces of the picket. In other machines inwhich the twister-heads are not stopped by positive mechanism the wireswill be often moved beyond a line perpendicular to the faces of thepicket, and will therefore not be in a line perpendicular to the facesof the picket, andthe wire will not be as closely wrapped about thepicket, and I the pickets will often become loose and drop out when thefence is in use.

In some instances it is desirable to manufacture-fence with shortpickets, and for this purpose I prefer to arrange a suitable saw 171upon the frame of the machine in front of the twisters, with itscutting-edge toward the twisters, so that as the fence is moved forwardby the fence-advancing mechanism the pickets will be sawed in two afterthey have been fastened by the wires. In this way I am enabledat oneoperation by one machine to simultaneously manufacture two lengths offencing, and, a very material amount of saving in time and labor iseffected, as it requires as much time to handle a short picket as itdoes a long one, and the machine arranged in this way will turn outtwice as much fence as an ordinary machine.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in a fence-machine, of arotating shaft, a twister-head arranged with its axis coinciding withthe axis of said shaft, and a clutch mechanism connecting saidtwister-head with said shaft so that it is rotated thereby,substantially as described.

2. The combination, in afence-machine, of a rotating shaft, atwister-head mounted on said shaft, a clutch mechanism connecting saidtwister-head with said shaft so that it is rotated thereby, andmechanism for periodically disconnecting said twister-head from saidshaft.

3. In a fence-making machine, the combination of a series ofcontinuously-rotating shafts and a series of twister-heads mounted onsaid shafts and connected therewith and arranged to be periodicallydisconnected from said shafts, substantially as described.

4. In a fence-making machine, the combination of a series of rotatingspool-frames, a series of shafts arranged to rotate at greater speedthan said spool-frames, and a series of twister-heads connected withsaid shafts 6. In a fence-machine, the combination of a 1 rotatingspool-frame, a shaft located in front of said spool frame and arrangedto rotate at a greater speed than said spool-frame, and a twister-headconnected with said shaft by a suitable clutch and arranged to beperiodically disconnected therefrom.

7. The combination, in a fence-machine, of a series of rotatingspool-frames, a series of hollow shafts located in front of saidspoolframes and arranged to rotate at a greater speed than saidspool-frames, a series of twister-heads mounted on said hollow shafts,and clutch mechanisms connecting said twister-heads with said hollowshafts and arranged to be periodically disconnected there from.

8. In a fence-machine, the combination, with suitable twisters, of thecarriage 61, provided with a wheel 63,arranged to travel upon a suitablerail 65, and the spring-louder 67, secured upon said carriage andprovided with the pivoted head 69, substantiallyas described.

9. In a fence'making machine, the combination, with the picket-movingcarriage, of the operating-arm 'provided with the casing 75, therock-shaft 77, provided with the lugs or shoulders 81, and thespring-dog 85,engaging one of said shoulders, substantially asdescribed.

10. In a fence-making machine, the combination, with a suitablerock-shaft, of-a reciprocating picket-moving carriage and anoperating-arm connected with said carriage and having a yieldingconnection with said rockshaft, substantially as described.

11. In a fence-making machine, the combination, with suitable twisters.of a fence-advancing mechanism consisting of endless chains providedwith dogs arranged to engage the fence-pickets and means for moving saidchains continuously, and thereby moving forward the fence with acontinuous movement, substantially as described.

12. In a fence -machine, the combination, with suitable twisters, of thefence-advancing mechanism comprising endless chains having a series ofdogs arranged to engage the pickets near their opposite ends and meansfor movin g said chain continuously, and thereby moving forward thefence with acontinuous movement, substantially as described.

13. In a fencemachine, the combination, with suitable twisters, of afence-advancing mechanism and means for operating said fence-advancingmechanism continuously,

and thereby moving forward the fence with a continuous movement,substantially as described.

14. The combination, in a fence machine, of continuously-rotatingspool-frames, periodically-rotating twisters, and continuouslyoperatingadvancing mechanism, substantially as described.

15. The combination, in a fencemachine, with the fence-advancingmechanism and the reel, of a paint-receptacle arranged between saidfence-advancin g mechanism and said reel and means for directing saidfence through said receptacle, substantially as described.

16. In a fencemachine, the combination, with the shaft 139, providedwith the gear 141,

and the friction mechanism for driving said shaft, of the cup-shapedcasting 151, secured upon said shaft and provided with a flange 153, thesliding shaft 155, having the collar 157 and the set screw 159, thecup-shaped casting 160, secured upon said shaft, and the wedge-shapedbars 161 and 163, provided with grooves engaging said flange 153 andhaving their opposite ends fitting in said cup-shaped castings,substantially as described.

A. 0. PAUL, BEssIn' BOOTH.

